A strange energy ball enters Moya and engulfs John. Crichton emerges, followed by a Neanderthal-like version of himself and another version that appears to be a future-evolved human. When communication with the energy ball is established, it states that it will leave without destroying Moya, but one of the Crichtons must be sacrificed for its research.viaposted by cshenk (6 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

Dear Farscape writers: there is no way to know what a "more evolved" version of a species will look like. Evolution is based on environment! Take a class! Bring the Voyager writers with you!

Chiana's relationship with Cave John is pretty cute though.

AV Club notes that Browder based his performance for Future Crichton on Bill Clinton.posted by chaiminda at 1:22 PM on October 21, 2015

Dear Farscape writers: there is no way to know what a "more evolved" version of a species will look like. Evolution is based on environment! Take a class! Bring the Voyager writers with you!

Gads, that was a terrible Voyager episode. Thankfully, this episode wasn't nearly so bad. In terms of Future John's appearance, it definitely played on the pop culture idea that's been around at least since Star Trek's pilot that humans will evolve bigger brains (which is also in part a traditional idea of human evolution - as we evolved from apes, we grew bigger brains), so it doesn't really bother me that much. Bonus creepo points for the brain ridges through the skin and for the big white teeth.

This is definitely very much akin to a Star Trek episode. A mysterious probe and then something happens which defies normal explanation or understanding. It's a much better episode than it has the right to be, in my opinion, based on its premise and I think a lot of that boils down to the writing and the actors. Future John exists as this cautionary tale against logical pragmatism, the smart thing isn't always the kindest or morally right thing. This is mirrored by our primitive John, who makes up in moral realization what he might not have on an IQ test. John, our John, recognizes this and so the show makes the statement that it's better morally to think with your heart than to think with your brain.

And of course, as I was watching this, I continued to wonder, "What of ol' Stark?"posted by Atreides at 8:21 AM on October 22, 2015

This is one of those episodes that didn't impress me much the first time I saw it, but on rewatch I thought was very good. Most of that is Ben Browder's performance(s)--I felt like there were three different actors playing the three Johns. Of course, I also love the Aeryn and John stuff, from the way Aeryn drapes herself all over John when he's ejected from the sphere to her awesome lines--"For a start, John has more hair. (she lowers her eyes pointedly down his body) Amongst other things. You gonna blame that on feeling cold?"--which is more evidence of my theory that they are having a relationship (physical and emotional) even though it's not shown on screen.
Also in this episode, confirmation that Alex, John's former flame, does indeed exist and is not a figment of the Delvians' imagination (See "Rhapsody in Blue")--when Futuro is trying to convince John that he is also John Crichton, there is this interaction:
John: Okay - when the Farscape project received funding - what did I do?
Futuro: Celebrated with Dad, DK and Alex. Drank a little too much champagne that cost way too much. Argued with DK-
As for the evolution stuff, which Voyager episode is that? It must not have made a big impression on me! Also, I think Farscape tries to cover its bases by saying that it is one possible evolutionary path (don't know if it succeeds, but it tries...) : )posted by cshenk at 11:34 PM on October 23, 2015